Formula Two

Teach me about GP2

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 24 total)
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  • #132708
    Lucas Wilson
    Participant

    I know a bit about F1. But (probably because its not shown on TV), I don’t know anything about GP2. Can some people get me up-to-date with the sport so I can can start following it?

    #225183
    Ryan Williams
    Participant

    @full-throttle-f1 The GP2 Series is the official support series to Formula 1. It began in 2005, after the Formula 3000 series which originally supported F1 was discontinued.

    The Car:
    The GP2 car has developed over the years to match the style of current F1 machinery, with the current car utilising a Dallara chassis with a 4-litre Renault V8 engine producing 612bhp. All the cars are the same meaning victory is down to the skill of the driver & the team. The tyres are also similar to those used in F1.

    The Race Weekend
    A GP2 race weekend consists of a 30 minute practice session & 30 minute qualifying session on the Friday to determine the Feature Race grid. 4 points are awarded to the fastest driver in qualifying. There is then a 1 hour “Feature” race on the Saturday, usually following F1 qualifying, which includes a mandatory pitstop where at least 2 tyres must be changed. On Sunday there is a shorter “Sprint” race lasting 45 minutes, with no pitstops. The grid for this race is determined by the result of the Feature Race, with the top 8 finishers being reversed (Winner of the Feature Race starts 8th and so on), with the rest of the grid starting in the position they finished the Feature Race in.

    Points System:
    Points for the Feature Race are :
    1st – 25
    2nd – 18
    3rd – 15
    4th – 12
    5th – 10
    6th – 8
    7th – 6
    8th – 4
    9th – 2
    10th – 1
    With an additional 2 points for the fastest lap of the race

    Sprint Race:
    1st – 15
    2nd – 12
    3rd – 10
    4th – 8
    5th – 6
    6th – 4
    7th – 2
    8th – 1
    Again, with 2 points available for the fastest lap

    Champions:
    2005: Nico Rosberg
    2006: Lewis Hamilton
    2007: Timo Glock
    2008: Giorgio Pantano
    2009: Nico Hülkenberg
    2010: Pastor Maldonado
    2011: Romain Grosjean
    2012: Davide Valsecchi

    #225184
    katederby
    Participant

    GP2 has been covered on SkyF1 since last year and on Eurosport before that… will Eurosport be covering it this year?

    #225185
    Ryan Williams
    Participant

    @katederby Sky Sports F1 are continuing their GP2 and GP3 coverage this year I think

    #225186
    katederby
    Participant

    Thanks Ryan, yes I believe Sky are carrying on with the feeder series’ coverage… which is great, I shall be watching again this year. I just wondered about those who don’t have the SkyF1 channel.

    #225187
    Euro Brun
    Participant

    If GP2 cars currently use V8 engines, surely they’ve got to be downsizing in 2014 too?

    #225188
    Prisoner Monkeys
    Participant

    Not that I’m aware of, but the series operates on a three-year cycle. Every three seasons, the cars are upgraded to a new model. An engine format change might be included from 2014, but I haven’t heard any word on it.

    #225189
    Euro Brun
    Participant

    Would it not be a little embarrassing for F1 if GP2 end up with larger engines?
    Especially while they’re trying to justify the smaller engines. I mean its not like GP2 will suddenly be faster, but on the face of it it sounds a a bit weird.

    #225190
    matt90
    Participant

    @eurobrun Not if the engines are slower. In the 80’s I believe most BTCC cars had larger engines than F1 cars- so it doesn’t really mean anything.

    #225191
    Ryan Williams
    Participant

    @eurobrun GP2 already has larger engines than F1!

    #225192
    matt90
    Participant

    Oh yeah, that’s an even more obvious point.

    #225193
    Euro Brun
    Participant

    haha, fair point. I’m confusing V’s with Litres. :)

    #225194
    Ryan Williams
    Participant

    It would make sense for the series to downsize alongside F1 in 2014. GP2 has always aimed to make the cars as similar to F1 machinery as possible, otherwise it’s sort of missing the point of a feeder series

    #249838
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I created Excel spreadsheets with a timeline of F3000 and GP2 teams, including separate ones for race winners.
    This is how the field evolved in F3000 over the course of 20 seasons. The teams are listed in descending order from the first to take part in the championship. Grey boxes indicate a race participation, whilst blank boxes mean the opposite.
    This is the same as the above, excluding teams who did not win a single race, and includes statistics. The teams are listed in descending order from the first to win. Races won are shown in yellow.

    The same goes for GP2:

    Obviously the 2014 data in the first table are projections, hoping no one withdraws half way through the season, and have not been counted in the second table’s statistics.

    Hope you like them – any feedback is appreciated!

    #249847
    Steven
    Participant

    Another point I’ll add: because the cars are all identical and only differ in setup/driver/team, the racing is very close and fun. If a driver is pulling away, you know it’s because they nailed a setup and are perfectly in tune with the car.

    I find GP2 races to be consistently exciting, and GP3 to a certain degree as well (should be much better now that they have even faster cars).

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